Chiropractic Treatment of Ankle Sprain

Chiropractic Spinal Adjustments Found Effective for Treating Ankle Sprain Pain in Lincoln

We see several patients in our Lincoln office with ankle sprains but Dr. Jerrad Swanson, DC, FMT, DN1 has had a lot of success helping them recover more quickly. Why are ankle sprains so common and how can chiropractic treatment help?

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), approximately 25,000 people in the US sprain their ankles daily. As a matter of fact, these injuries make up practically half of all sports injuries, causing people to spend time away from the activities they enjoy most.

Like any injury, there are many causes of ankle sprains. The most frequent is inversion, or when the ankle rolls inward. This injury can happen due to one forceful movement, or it can develop over a period of time, and activities that increase the risk for this type of ankle sprain include running and jumping. You're also at risk if you have previous ankle injuries, poor posture or balance, weak muscles, and reduced range of motion.

How Can Chiropractic Therapy and Dr. Jerrad Swanson, DC, FMT, DN1 Help?

A paper printed in the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics set out to determine chiropractic's role when it comes to ankle sprain recovery. Researchers recruited 33 people between the ages of 18 and 45 who had a history of ankle inversion sprains, who were reporting tenderness and/or discomfort, and had not re-injured the ankle in the previous 6 weeks.

Eighteen of the people were assigned to receive rehabilitation and the other 15 people received chiropractic therapy in addition to rehab. Each person had five full weeks of therapy, with the rehabilitation group receiving therapy seven days a week and the rehabilitation plus chiropractic group receiving therapy six out of the seven days.

Research Proves Chiropractic Therapy Helps With Ankle Sprains

The study found that the people who participated in both rehab and chiropractic fared the best at the 4-week mark when it came to pain and joint restriction. Also, no undesirable effects were reported, showing that chiropractic therapy is safe!

If you're near our office in Lincoln and you're dealing with an ankle injury, give us a call. We'll do what we can to keep you up and jumping... literally!

Studies

• American College of Sports Medicine. (n.d.). Ankle sprains and the athlete. Retrieved from https://www.acsm.org/docs/current-comments/anklesprainstemp.pdf
• Lubbe, D et al. (2015, January). Manipulative therapy and rehabilitation for recurrent ankle sprain with functional instability: a short-term, assessor-blind, parallel-group randomized trial. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, 38(1), 22-34, doi:10.1016/j.jmpt.2014.10.001